The Voice of Guilt
by Silent Gale
Summary: Kirito, known to many as the infamous Beater. After realizing the things he could have done differently, he starts to feel the guilt of leaving behind so many people to fend for himself. Now he comes at a crossroad of what to do. As he starts to ponder, he has to make the decision as he comes to the rescue of The Black Cats of the Full Moon. Kirito/?
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Sword Art Online.

**Author's Notes: **Ever since I read through Sword Art Online and then watching through the recent episodes, I thought I'd try my hand at a SAO fic. Please tell me what you think.

* * *

**Aincrad- April, 2023 Floor 11: Dungeon**

_Hack Slash Thrust_

These thoughts continued to surround me as I fought down the last of the enemy monsters. With one last attack «Vertical» I killed the remainder of the enemy goblins. After looking at the small window in front of me indicating the small amount of experience I had, I closed it and decided to leave the area.

I often wondered how I ended up where I am. I, Kirigaya Kazuto under the alias Kirito, was trapped in the VRMMORPG known as «Sword Art Online». In SAO, we fight for our lives because if we die here, there was no return.

It was all because of the changes made by the developer Kayaba Akihiko. He was the developer of Nerve Gear and the game Sword Art Online which trapped 10,000 people into a world of death. Now we that remain try to live on by clearing the one hundred floors so that we may one day return.

I thought this world would be a freedom in itself. Now it's just a jail.

It all started because I was great with technology. I was a natural programmer. This certain skill of mine led me to realizing the fact that my parents were actually my aunt and uncle who've adopted me when my own died. I don't know when, but it was because of this I drifted away from my little sister/cousin Suguha. In that time, I spent my time immersing myself into MMOs distancing myself from her. It was shameful of me, and there really was no excuse for it.

_Sugu I'm so sorry. I promise that I will return one day._

After going through several MMOs, I found myself as one of the tenth of SAO players that won the lottery to become a Beta tester. It was because of this I found my freedom here. I'd dive into the virtual world almost every day whenever I could.

That freedom was changed into a nightmare once Kayaba got rid of the log out button.

Either way, I knew that I had to survive if I ever wanted to get back to reality. I utilized my prior experience to look out for myself. I became a «Solo», but most importantly, I became the first «Beater».

In a game of life and death, a Beater is the worst. The word came from a combination of «Beta» and «Cheater». Since I had prior knowledge to the game, I knew how to get around from the very beginning. Beaters were the hated people of SAO since it was known that we ditched the rest of the pack in order to fend for themselves.

It all started when tensions were growing high on the first floor boss. There were people blaming all the Betas out there, but that wouldn't be fair now would it? Some Betas didn't know what they were doing, otherwise known as «Newbies». Therefore, I took the blame as a «Beater» so that those who were testers wouldn't be judged on sight.

I figured the tough solo approach would be the best way to go. Since I already had the knowledge, it would help me survive. That didn't stop the pain in my chest as I left behind one of my friends behind.

_I didn't deserve understanding Klein. _Klein was the first friend I met in «Starting City» on release day. After the announcement from Kayaba Akihiko, we split up because of the dangers moving on would bring. He decided to stay behind with his friends to help them, but we both knew it was more dangerous having more people if we snuck away. In the end, I had to ignore the pain in my chest as I ran away.

_It wasn't the only way._ That's right. Klein, who actually stayed behind, became the leader of a rather high level guild named «Fuurinkazan». It was a guild made up by the core of his friends who he helped train with. They were not the top guild around, but they make an impact on boss floor clearings.

_If you knew that, why didn't you stop? _Truthfully, I never did know. In fact, the closest partying member I had was a girl named Asuna, or known as «The Flash». We partied through the first few floors. In the end, I gave her advice to join a guild because being a Solo wasn't the greatest of methods. It was very hypocritical to tell her that, but she actually heeded my advice. Now she's the sub-leader of the «Knights of Blood».

_It was because you were guilty._ That's probably right. I wouldn't want Asuna to keep suffering like I do; it just wouldn't be right.

_What about Diabel or _«_Argo the Rat»?_ Diabel. He stayed behind to help all those who were new to level up. He ended up dying on the 1st floor boss fight after going for the LA. The «Last Attack Bonus» was given to the player who finished off the boss. I was painfully aware of this memory because after his death, I took the LA and received the «Coat of Midnight» that was in my inventory. If he stuck around to help, why didn't I?

Even Argo had helped all the new players. The information broker gave off free pamphlets of the floor to all of those who needed it. Even she, who pretty much made everyone pay up for the littlest things, helped out.

_Then why didn't I do anything?_ That wasn't completely true. I did help Asuna and Klein during the start of their careers. But that still didn't shake off the guilt I had over it all.

All my friends were a part of something, all of them except me.

_You of all people do not deserve to join a guild. _Yeah, a «Beater» especially had no right to join a guild.

It's been a growing thought of mine actually. Klein actually still offers me the chance whenever we meet up during the clearing floor parties. I always declined him but whenever I see people together like that, even if I never show it and hid it to myself, I was bitter. The loneliness of being a Solo was starting to get to me. Wherever I go I see all sorts of people together in groups. Yet I was on my own. Even my friends had others to be with.

_This was your own choice._ That's right. It was. I have nobody to blame but myself. I can't be selfish about things when it was my own choice. I shouldn't be jealous if I chose this path. Even still, what if I suddenly entered a guild? Would that be a betrayal to Klein?

I can't look back on the past. It's time to set aside these thoughts otherwise I might die, and then what would I accomplish? No, there can be no doubts in a life and death situation. My resolve has to be strengthened. Just think of all the others who are relying on the clearers. They feel safer because of them.

The guilt is still in my heart, but now it's a bit more manageable.

It was then I heard the sound of metal being clanged.

It was obvious there was a battle somewhere nearby. There were two options before me now. First is the stay safe and leave now. The second would be to run in the direction of the sound.

I took the second option.

My curiosity was piqued and I had to know. Since the metallic sounds were getting louder, I knew it had to be a battle of some sort. Who knows maybe somebody needs help?

I finally arrived at the scene behind some bushes. There standing in front of me was a group five people. I'm assuming they're under some sort of guild. They were fighting what looked to be a horde of goblins.

Now I knew I could take them down easily. I was doing so beforehand. I could go out there and help them, but then they'll find out my status as a «Beater». That's something I'd rather avoid while on the lower floors, because if I get reported. Well… let's just say it would be a bad sign.

I looked at the five people. I instantly shook my head just looking at them. They were terribly unbalanced. There were two lancers; one, which I noticed on a small note, was a female. Another was a thief. The leader seemed to be a staff wielder. The final member who was the forward was a mace wielder.

The group was retreating slowly as the mace user slowly took on more damage. It seemed that they were slowly being overwhelmed. I took note of their HP bar. It looked like they should make it out alive, but if they were mobbed again by another horde…

No; I couldn't let them die in good conscience (especially after my whole inner dilemma from earlier).

Again there were two options. One I could decide to easily sweep through all of the goblins saving their lives in a matter of seconds, yet risking exposure to the news bulletin of a person with bad etiquette (someone with a higher level really shouldn't be on the lower floors). The second would be to gradually assist them, taking my time so they wouldn't get suspicious.

I almost immediately chose the latter. It was the safest, smartest thing to do. Yet the guilt from earlier was stopping me. It was if saying that I'd feel even guiltier if I chose that in the long run.

_You can't handle any more guilt can you?_ Could I? I wasn't sure. Maybe that's why I hesitated. In the end I chose the former, because any sign of hesitation would prove to be a down fall somewhere down the line. I had to trust my gut on this even if I knew it would be the less logical reason.

I emerged from the bushes and without saying anything to the guild members. I took out my sword and started swinging. A few «Horizontals» and the goblins were easily defeated after a couple of seconds. A small screen indicated that I gained a little experience.

When all was said and done the leader of the group came up and confronted me. "What are you doing here?"

I answered honestly. "I was about to leave until I heard sounds. I saw your guild having trouble so I decided to give you a hand. Is there really a reason not save someone's life?"

That answered caught him off guard as he began to look sheepish. That was until he remembered how fast I finished off those goblins. "What I mean is why are you here? Someone of your skill shouldn't be on this floor."

Okay I knew the guy had the right to be angry, and I full accepted doing this knowing that fact, but that still incensed me a bit. "Look I just saved your life and your judging me on my character?"

The average guy I thought would be glad that I saved them. Maybe there was the occasional backstab by some PKers, but for them to think that of me I found that highly unlikely. They outnumbered me 5:1.

"Keita please stop fighting, he saved our lives," said the only girl in the group. She was a blue haired girl with a face that radiated innocence. I can't help but note that she really didn't look like she could handle this world, but I didn't comment on that. "Anyways, I'm so glad that you saved us. My name's Sachi."

She really was a polite one. I smiled at her. "My name is Kirito. Nice to meet you." We shook hands and I started to relax. It looked like she wasn't out to get me unlike their leader.

"Well if Sachi likes you then you must be okay. She's a really good judge of character. The name is Keita," the leader introduced. "We are the «Black Cats of the Full Moon»," he said motioning the other members.

After a brief round of introductions, I could honestly say I was relieved. They didn't hate me, but I couldn't stay here any longer. I had to get back to the frontlines.

"It's nice to meet all of you, but I must be going now," I said trying to end our conversation.

"At least stay with us until we head back into town. Please?" Sachi all but begged me with her puppy dog eyes.

"All right then, but after that I have to go."

* * *

**Aincrad- April 8, 2023 Floor 11: Taft**

I said that I would leave, but I suddenly found myself surrounded by the «Black Cats» partying in the local ale house. We were off by the corner, so nobody really cared about the ruckus we made.

_You shouldn't be here. _I was starting getting guiltier and guiltier the more I stayed here. My fears came true as Keita asked me, "Ne Kirito, what level are you?"

This time the whole table perked up wanting to find out. It seemed they were obviously interested in this Solo player.

I had to hold back another sigh. I've already decided on my course of action; it's time to see the consequences. "I'll be frank. I'm at level 40."

"Eh!" the entire group gasped.

It seemed like Keita came to the right conclusion, something I was expecting from him earlier. "Then that means you're a Beater?"

I only nodded my head.

"Then what's a Beater doing on this lower level floor huh?" his voice was back to being accusatory like earlier.

"I'm gathering necessary ingredients for upgrading some equipment; the clearers are almost done with the next dungeon."

"So you've been trying to steal from the weak huh?"

I shook my head in disappointment. "If I was doing that, I would have let you all just get swarmed by the mobs and then took what was left over. I don't steal."

It seemed like my answer was a cold slap to the face judging Keita's expression. Now I was wondering what would have happened if I didn't tell them this information and decided to hide my status. At least I was reinsured in the fact that any sort of karma couldn't bite back since I was being honest through this entire interaction.

"See Kirito is a nice person," Sachi said. "If he wasn't there then we might not be alive," she said with tears starting to fall. "Thank you... Thank you so much. I was really afraid... when you came to our rescue, I was really happy. I truly appreciate your help."

This opinion seemed to lighten the mood from everyone.

The mace wielder clasped his hand on my back and said, "Well you did save our lives. I don't care if he is a Beater because without him we would have been dead."

Even Keita seemed to dissolve his own anger at me. He was now even smiling widely.

"Then I propose a toast to Kirito," said the thief. "Cheers!"

"Cheers!"

We partied for quite some time. By the end of it, I was declared a member of the «Black Cats of the Full Moon».

I could only smile now. Things were starting to look up.

* * *

**Aincrad- May 9, 2023 Floor 20: Sunlit Forest**

It's been a few weeks since I've officially joined the «Black Cats of the Full Moon». Our guild was getting along famously. At first, I thought that there might be some rough spots going through with this, especially since all of them were friends back in the real world, but that was just another worry I could let go.

I was startled out of my thoughts when I noticed Sachi being attacked. She was cowering low behind her shield, but she wasn't adept at using it yet; this was her first time using the sword and shield. She was originally a spear user, but there was already a better spear user. This was a demo of sorts for her.

"Sachi get back!" I yelled.

I jumped in front of her and redirected the «Killer Mantis's» blow. I parried away its scythe-like arms and slashed one of them off.

"Tetsuo «Switch»!"

"Right!" Tetsuo jumped in front of me and landed a devastating blow with his mace to the Mantis's abdomen. The monster was destroyed into bits of bright polygons.

A screen appeared in front of him saying that he leveled up.

"Alright!" he celebrated. The rest of the group was offering their praises as we finally began to head back into town.

It's been going on for a while now. Since I joined the guild, everyone's been leveling up faster than what even I expected. Since they all were aware about my own skills, the guild's confidence grew. They were slowly catching up to the clearer's levels in no time.

We all headed down to a large valley in the countryside. The entire atmosphere was relaxing with the cool breeze gently flowing across the land. We were all eating our small bentos provided by our dear sweet Sachi. I was starting to think that maybe she would be better off cooking instead of risking her life.

"So the clearers have made it to Floor 28?" Keita asked me as he was reading the «Weekly Argo». The newspaper made by Argo compiled a list of all the news that's been going on as expected of the information broker.

"Ah yes, we finally beat the Boss," I said. Everyone in the guild knew that I had to leave on occasion to help back out, and they didn't expect anything less. I had the sneaking suspicion that the reason they were leveling up so quickly was to catch up to me and the rest of the clearers. Well…they weren't too understanding at first.

* * *

_Flashback_

_It was late one night when I was heading out to the frontlines again to start leveling up. Recently I've been managing to sneak out without the guild knowing that I was heading back up there. That was until I was caught by Keita._

"_Why are you leaving us?" he asked. "I thought we were a guild now." I couldn't decipher his expression. _

"_I'm doing this for the guild," I answered. He looked at me strangely. I guess he was offering me a chance to continue. "I couldn't bear if you guys died when I could possibly be training to prevent that."_

"_So you're leveling up to provide a safety net of sorts?" he asked._

"_Yes."_

_He seemed to look thoughtful that was until he lightly punched me on my shoulder. "You know we can handle ourselves," he said with a smile. _

"_I know, but the guilt from before won't leave until I can do everything I can," I confessed._

_I told him about my own inner turmoil from before I met the guild a few days after joining. Our bond grew ever stronger from there._

"_Then we'll be waiting Kirito."_

* * *

After my talks with Keita, he would explain to the rest of the guild. I'm glad that they understood.

"Hey Kirito," Keita asks me, "what is the difference between the lead groups and us?"

"Like me, they all know the fastest ways to gain EXP and they don't share them," I said with a sigh.

"Don't talk about yourself like that," he said. "This…is obviously a reason. But I feel that it was willpower. Their desire to protect their friends, all the players is strong. It's because of this power that they were able to win in dangerous boss battles. We're the ones being protected, but our feelings won't lose to them. So…I feel that if we continue to work hard like this, we can catch up."

"I'm glad that your reasoning makes sense. It helps me be reassured Keita, but I don't think that's the case," I said. "If they wanted to protect the players, they would have passed on equipment to the mid-players to make sure everyone levels up. No, it's because all the top guilds have some amazing swordsman; they just want to become the hero like in any other RPG," I continued getting even more depressed. I was exactly like this before I met these guys.

"Hey don't be too hard on yourself; you've helped our guild by giving us supplies and helping us safely level up," Keita said. "Of course our priority is our friends' safety, but how about we prove it to the other guilds by rising to the top like the «Holy Dragon Alliance» or even the «Knights of Blood» one day?"

"I see; you're right Keita," I said. I couldn't help but feel invigorated by how passionate he was talking about this. It gave me hope that maybe we could, no that we will rise as a group to the level of clearers all together.

"Ah leader, that's so cool!" Ducker said while putting our leader into a headlock. It seemed the rest of the guild was listening into our conversation.

"So we're going to be up with the «Holy Dragon Alliance» and the «Knights of Blood»?" asked Tetsuo.

"What?" Keita asked not liking this apparent ribbing into his dream. "There's nothing wrong with setting big goals. First we'll all hit level thirty, and then even higher until we reach Kirito's level."

"Mou, you're kidding. That's impossible," complained Sachi while the others couldn't help but agree with her.

At that point, I thought that if all the Black Cats made it to the frontlines, Keita's ideals could quite possibly change the atmosphere surrounding the clearers.

* * *

**Aincrad- May 15, 2023 Floor 11: Taft **

"I've got great news everyone," Keita said. Right now we were conducting our usual guild meeting for official business. "Today we've netted 200,000 col." Col was the monetary value in SAO. Monetary value being watched over by the Cardinal System, so there was no such thing as inflation.

"Whoa!" The whole room was impressed with that number. Even I was actually surprised we collected that much.

"We might even be able to buy our dream house pretty soon!" said an upbeat Tetsuo.

"Hey, why don't we upgrade some of Sachi's equipment?" asked Sasamaru

Sachi's mood visibly dampened. Seeing such a girl look down just did not look right. "I'll manage with what I have," she said.

"Just do it," said Sasamaru. "Kirito shouldn't be the one to fight all the monsters."

"Sorry," she mumbled at me.

"I don't mind, so no worries," I said with a smile. I was hoping that my reassurance would help raise back her mood. It seemed Keita had the same idea.

"Thanks Kirito. Sachi I know switching builds is tough, but you'll figure it out soon enough. Let's all do our best!"

She nodded her head, but she still seemed down. I'll have to talk to her about it later.

* * *

**Aincrad- May 16, 2023 Floor 28: Wolf Plains**

The next night I prepared for my usual training. The thing I wasn't expecting was the guild «Fuurinkazan» to be here.

I stood up on a higher hill watching Klein's guild slowly taking out the wild wolves.

I saw Klein finish it with his «Sword Skill». It seemed that he noticed me from the distance as he shouted over to me. He said a few words and ran up to greet me.

"It's been ages since I last saw you! So you do your leveling up in the middle of the night?"

He paused and studied me. I had a feeling he was going to ask about—

"Wait that icon… Is that a guild icon?" he stared at me.

I avoided his gaze and said, "Yeah, it is."

"Hey," one of the Fuurinkazan asked, "let's find another pack!"

I couldn't stay here. I thought I'd be able to face Klein and tell him about my guild, but I couldn't. My strange compulsion to help out the Black Cats was due to my guild, yet I couldn't even stand in the face of one my friends. He was the first person who understood why I became a Solo.

_Your guilt will consume you otherwise. _That thought rang loudly in my ears. It seemed that my inner compulsion was still hardening my resolve after all. I had to tell him something before I left.

"They needed my help; it was either that or death. You seem to be doing what you planned huh?" I said while looking at the other members of Fuurinkazan down below.

"Oi Kirito if that's been bothering you it's fine. This doesn't change the fact that we're still friends," he said with a grin.

I felt some relief coursing through my body. Of course I should have known he would understand, but I guess the relief of letting it out after just leaving back in «Starting City» felt great.

"See you Klein."

I walked away further down finding my own training grounds. That day I leveled up twice as fast as I normally would have.

* * *

**Aincrad- May 16, 2023 Floor 11: Taft**

I was about to head back to HQ to get some rest, but then I got a message from Keita.

[This is Keita,

This is an emergency

Sachi went out and hasn't come back yet.

We're going to look for her in the Labyrinth.

I know you'll be better at finding her, so please tell us if you find out anything.]

This was bad. This was really bad. I couldn't let anything happen to her. She was the first one to hand me her faith without a fear of doubt. She didn't treat me as a Beater even when we first met.

My blood was boiling. If anything happened to her then—

No, I would not let anything happen to her.

I quickly opened up my screen and hit the «Tracking» skill. My world turned green as my eyelids readjusted themselves into the new sight. With this, light green footsteps would appear before me creating a trail.

I ran and ran. I never stopped until I found myself underneath the small drain that was somewhat far from the main street. I was quite surprised when I finally got there. She was resting on the wall curled up. The moonlight glow seeping through the tunnel gave off an ethereal beauty on her face. I couldn't stop myself from staring at her.

It was then that I noticed the small mantle around herself. It had the invisibility function, which is why the guild couldn't find her earlier.

"Sachi," I called out. I didn't want to frighten her so I was a little bit further away than where she was sitting.

She looked up at me questioningly. "Kirito?" she asked.

"Everybody's worried about you."

She looked down and avoided my face. Now I knew something was wrong earlier back in the guild meeting, but now I was very worried.

I decided to move closer and sit nearer to her.

"Ne, Kirito, let's run away."

Now I was confused. "Run, run away from what?"

"From this town, from the monsters, from the Black Cats…From Sword Art Online."

"Eh? Do you intend on doing a double suicide together?"

She smiled bitterly.

"I wouldn't mind that." Now I was panicking. This couldn't be happening. Then she shook her head. "Sorry. That was a lie. If I had the courage to die, I wouldn't be hiding in this safe town."

"…I'm scared of death. I'm scared of dying; it's gotten to the point that I've been having trouble sleeping."

"Why do we have to die in this game? What's the meaning behind all of this?"

Now I knew I could answer her questions with straight, blunt fact. This however would not be the solution, so I tried my best to think of something else.

"There probably isn't a point Sachi."

We sat together in silence. The semi-circle of the drain was revealing the beauty of the night sky. I stared up at the stars but I found myself turning myself back to stare at Sachi.

Sachi, she is the beautiful girl I found myself sitting next to. The blunette that said she trusted me. The girl I would gladly die for to see happy.

"Sachi," I said breaking the silence. "You won't die. If anything happened to you then…" I couldn't stop myself. Salty tears flowed down my face showing my anguish at this whole situation.

I moved over closer to her and put my arms around her. This shocked Sachi and even shocked me for I was never this forward, but I had to convey all my feelings.

"You won't die; I'll protect you. The Black Cats will protect you. We are strong Sachi. You are strong and don't you dare deny it. You believed in me and I won't let that belief be a lie. You don't have to be a swordsman. I'll personally talk to Keita and tell him your feelings. You don't have to bottle it in. I know because I went through that as a Beater."

You'll see the world; you'll be alive when we finally clear this game. I'll put my life at stake for this one promise to you Sachi.

We sat there crying into each other's arms; the midnight's light resting upon us as we wept.

* * *

**Author's Notes: **Well how did you like the first chapter? This is just a side story to my other one, but if this gathers more attention, I might feel more inclined to write more of this or at least try to.

I'm not the best with characterization, but I believe that this shouldn't be considered an OOC Kirito namely because he was a character wracked with guilt until Asuna and him get together; okay most of the guilt happened after meeting the Black Cats, but it isn't a stretch to say he could have been consumed by guilt earlier than that (namely because of Kirito and Klein separating in the Town of Beginnings, Diabel, etc.).

Please feel free to leave a PM or a review and let me know what you think. Until next time, see you.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Sword Art Online.

**Author's Notes: **Yeah people have been pestering me about basically using the plot of Red-nosed Reindeer. I'm sorry about that, but this story has to deviate from somewhere, therefore I kind of needed to do that. Anyways, the path should start changing soon, so stayed tuned for that.

*I also found on the Wiki that Ducker was the thief, so I went back and fixed that.

Now on to the chapter.

* * *

**Aincrad- May 16, 2023 Floor 11: Taft**

It was really late, almost midnight, when the two of us returned home to headquarters. I sent a message to Keita that the two of us returned. I stayed behind downstairs to wait for the group, while Sachi went to get some sleep.

I turned to look towards the window from the stool I was seated on. The moonlight seemed to have been a good compulsion to start reflecting on what happened before they got here.

_You made her happy. _Yes. I could say without a doubt that I made her feel better, while at the same time I felt tremendously relieved myself.

_You made an impossible promise. _I know that it might be difficult but I wouldn't say it is not impossible. I just have to strengthen my resolve and make sure it comes to pass.

_You're setting yourself up for disappointment. _I know that this might be too good to be true and that I'd probably fail, butI wouldn't let it be a lie because this may be my one time to fix the mistakes I've already made.

_You do know what will happen should you fail. _I'd spiral even further down into depression. It probably would have been better off if I never joined; it'd have been the best choice to dull my emotions once more.

But I couldn't. I couldn't let it go to finally have something I've always wanted.

_You're going to gamble everything then? _Yes, yes I will. I will gamble my life to keep those precious to me. I will gamble my own happiness, so that I may fulfill this one chance. Should I fail then… No, I will not fail. I could not fail. Not after everything I've done for I'm striving for. Not after I spent the last few hours crying together in the arms of a girl who I promised we'll make it out alive together.

_Sachi I promise this won't be in vain._ This was a promise of a life time.

_As long as you realize the consequences of your actions… _I did. This was an all or nothing thing, should I fail the guilt would be too much even for me to handle.

I was broken out of my thoughts as I heard the door open. Keita and the rest of the Black Cats were back and heading towards the table I was seated at.

"So Kirito, where did you find her? Keita asks me. He seemed especially tired tonight. I guess they overdid their own searching to find Sachi. That tiredness was seen all around the table. The dedication and resolve they had gave me a small smile.

"She was down by the drain off the main street."

"What was she doing down there?" panted Ducker.

"Here," I said giving each of the members something to drink. They really needed it if Ducker's voice was anything to go by. "Anyways she was down there crying."

"What!" the group gasped.

"Was it anything we did?" Keita asked as he downed the drink.

"It's not really because of you guys, but she's been sinking further into depression. It seems she can't handle the stress anymore."

"Handle the stress of what?" asked Sasamaru.

"She can't keep fighting, at least not the way she is guys," I said. I knew I had to drive this point home otherwise Sachi might feel even more pressured if they ignored me now. "She's afraid of dying."

Silence followed that statement. «The Black Cats of the Full Moon» was a guild that sought to become a clearing guild. They wanted to move forward, but if this was true about Sachi, how could they move on? The difficulty would surely rise, and one day she might actually fall.

"That Sachi," sighed Keita. I've never heard him speak like this before. He was the pillar which the guild elicited strength from. Now, now it looked like a man that was tired from everything around him. "She locked it all inside again."

This caught everyone's attention including mine. Wasn't this the first time this could have happened?

"You probably know this, but Sachi is probably the most peaceful girl you'll ever meet," he said. The rest of us just nodded our heads at this. "It's just because of this that she has a tendency to lock her emotions down if only to see the people around us happy. She feels that she can't burden her friends by telling them, so she instinctively keeps it to herself."

Keita took a swig of the drink I gave him. "I just hoped it wouldn't happen again. Recently her progression in opening up about her worries was doing fine. But I guess this death game was too much even for her."

So Sachi was even more fragile than I expected. "Then you know why I believe you should stop pressuring her to become a forward?" I asked.

"Yes," the red head answered. Keita looked at me though straight in the eye, "Yes I know that, but what about you?" he asked in response.

"What about me?" I asked.

"I'm just worried about how much work you've been doing. You've been helping the guild, doing some clearing, while at the same time spending a few hours at night to train. Your workload is getting to be too much even for you. You've barely been able to put a few hours of sleep before going out there again and doing it all over."

It seemed our leader was even more noticeable than I thought. I didn't even notice the amount of hours of rest I've been getting. It never really actually bothered me, so I never worried about it.

On the other hand, this was something that should be taken account of. If I'm going to protect them, I can't be tired. I have to have the maximum amount of strength in order to safely help them.

"Okay then Kirito. You don't have to answer now, but we'll finish up this discussion later. It's getting late and I'm pretty sure all of us could use some sleep."

He left the room. After a brief's moment of silence, we each bade each other night and went to get some shuteye. I had a lot of thoughts to sleep on.

* * *

**Aincrad- May 17, 2023 Floor 11: Taft**

The guild had just finished eating their breakfast before their leader got up and started moving upstairs.

"Kirito."

I looked up and noticed Keita indicating for him to follow.

The rest of the guys shared a look that was completely lost on their resident female.

We knew what Keita wanted him to talk about, so I got up and followed him.

Motioning for him to sit down, Keita moved right into the discussion.

"So what are we going to do?" he asked.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

There was a variety of things to say. Was he talking about Sachi, or was he talking about my issues of weariness?

Seeing my confusion he said, "Well first thing's first, what are we going to do about Sachi then?"

"Well first thing is to switch her back to using a spear."

"I understand now that it's necessary, but that would still be putting too much pressure on you and Tetsuo. Like I said before, you've been doing too much lately."

In all honesty, a break really did seem nice. Yet I knew I couldn't.

"Look Keita, I know that, but who else do we have that can do it? Sachi can't, and I'm the best one for the job."

"I know Kirito, but have you taken a look at this?" he asked as he took out a newspaper from his storage.

It was an issue of the «Weekly Argo». There on the cover were the words:

**Clearing Progress Has Begun To Slow Down**

This caught my attention. I didn't think that the progress was slow going right now. We seemed to be going at the normal pace.

"It says here that the clearing groups have slowed down. There's speculation that there main clearers haven't been getting as much done," he said with a pointed gaze at me. "Apparently the top tier guilds are having trouble without the help of the strongest «Beater»."

Well I guess it's true. Lately, I've mostly been training instead of clearing, but that shouldn't be too problematic. There are plenty of people there to pick up the slack.

"That shouldn't be too much of a problem," I told him. "There are others who can pick up the slack.

"Yes, but with you there the clearing progress would be back to a steady rate."

"I thought I was going to help out full time was when we all get there together."

Keita actually looked pleased with my answer. "That actually means a lot to me and the rest of us, but that's the problem. How can we keep going if Sachi is panicking?"

We both knew it was a cold truth. Even though Sachi's problems were shown more with her usage of a sword and shield, there was a specific reason why she chose a weapon with a longer reach. She couldn't hold herself together if the enemy got too near.

This was a very difficult thing to solve. The swarm of monsters keeps getting tougher, and if you couldn't fight in the face of danger then…

I then thought up a solution. "I'll talk to her. After yesterday, I'm sure I can get her to open up more."

"Do you really want to do that?"

"If it's for the sake of my friends, I'll do it."

There was a comfortable silence after that. That was until I remembered something.

"Keita, you said the «Black Cats of the Full Moon» were from the same computer club in the real world right?"

Keita nodded not quite sure what to say to this out of the blue question.

"Then that will just strengthen my resolve. My dream is to one day join your club. I might have neglected to mention this, but I love working with computers. I happened to be a programmer before I winded up in SAO."

"That's great!" said Keita. "That means you'll truly be one of us. It's a promise Kirito. We'll get out of this world and meet up in the real world!"

We shook hands after that. Before, I would feel jealous about the bonds that the guilds had, but now, now there was no need to be. I've found my place, and I have a dream to look forward to. Was there anything that could stop us now?

* * *

**Aincrad- May 17, 2023 Floor 11: Taft**

My chance to talk to Sachi arrived sooner than I anticipated. It was late at night and I was about to head out again for my usual training. That was until I found Sachi knocking on my door.

"Ano Kirito-kun, may I come in?"

"Sure thing Sachi, come on in."

I closed my system window as she entered my room There she was standing there with a nightgown on and a pillow in her hands.

"Gomen Kirito, I couldn't sleep."

"No it's fine Sachi." I still remembered what she said yesterday. That she had trouble getting sleep.

She smiled and I moved to make some space.

"Is there anything else you wanted to do?" I asked. Now was my chance to get her to open up more. Maybe I could find a more concrete solution.

"I'm too scared to sleep in my own room. Last night, I was terrified. But then I remembered Kirito-kun's hug. I was finally able to relax. So I thought that being next to you would be good enough."

"Why me in particular? I know you could ask Keita for help."

"With you I feel safe," she said. "With the others, I feel I might be the cause of their deaths, but Kirito is strong. I know Kirito can keep us all safe. It reassures me."

"Then the answer is for you to get stronger," I said. She looked at me questioningly. "You're scared of dying, but there's a solution for that. If you get stronger, the safer you'll become." Strength in this world was only an illusion after all. The higher your own numbers, the stronger you were no matter who you were.

"But that's why I'm scared Kirito," she replied meekly. "Keita plans for us to become one of highest guilds in this world. I'm afraid of that. The chances of dying are higher if we keep moving forward."

"But then we may never get out of here Sachi," I said. Her expression became strange. It looked bitterly conflicted. "You don't have to worry. If you're really that scared, I'll personally help you out," I said as I patted her head.

"I trust you Kirito," she said. I smiled, but she continued with, "But that's why I'm worried. I'm just going to become a burden to you and the others."

She truly was a saint wasn't she? She only cared about the feelings of others, but that's also what's leading to her mental breakdown.

"Then I have to ask you Sachi. Do you want to move forward? I mean do you want to keep fighting. You don't have to you know."

"I do, because I think I would regret even more if I didn't," she answered.

"Well then like I said. I'll always be there if you need me. I'll help train you. You don't have to be a forward anymore, so you can go back to using your spear."

"I know, but it doesn't seem right to leave it to just you and Tetsuo," she said. "Back when it was just the five of us, Tetsuo use to have his health almost at half every other day. I don't want you two to get tired while defending the rest of us."

Wait so even Sachi noticed that little fact. Was that one of her major concerns? Leaving all the weight on us?

"Keita mentioned that earlier," I said. "But don't worry about it, I can handle myself and I know Tetsuo feels the same way. What they're worried about is you."

A long silence permeated between us. It looks like the thoughts were slowly being pondered over by Sachi.

"Whatever decision you make, the Black Cats will always be there for you. Okay Sachi?"

She nodded and turned around, so that I was facing her back. It seemed she was going to sleep over it.

"Goodnight Sachi."

"Night Kirito and arigato."

That last sentence made me smile. I knew that she'd be fine.

* * *

**Aincrad- May 31, 2023 Floor 25: Forest of Ivory**

It's been two weeks since that night. Little by little, Sachi has been slowly started to open up more. It's gotten to the point where I've stopped heading out at night and slept with Sachi in my room.

It was slow going for sure. Every time the guild set off to another battle, she'd sometimes freeze until I rested my arm into her shoulder reassuring her. It turns out that right after that, she'd be the one that would deal the most damage to enemy spawns leveling up before anyone else could.

That confidence has led us to today. Even though she doesn't like using her shield and sword, she's been taking small pointers from me on how to use it. The guild didn't seem to mind. In fact it put the rest of us at peace. If there was the chance of her losing her weapon in battle, she'd always have her back up ready.

Not that we would ever let that happen. This guild was family, and the rest of us were the brothers seeking to protect their sister.

It made me want to see Suguha even more though.

"Kirito are you ready?" asked Tetsuo.

"Let's go."

We moved forward charging directly at the enemy plants. Here in the «Forest of Ivory» many of the swarms were large plant-like monsters. Some of their abilities were that if you got attacked, occasionally the status of paralysis would appear. As a solo, this would normally be tough for my style of battle, seeing that I would have to take down all of them without the use of «Switching» meaning that I'd probably be assaulted by many attacks before I could use my next Sword Skill.

However…

This situation would be easy to manage. If one of us would ever be attacked, the other members would guard the fallen and hand off a green colored «Antidote Crystals».

I easily cut off the vines of the first plant I was facing, while Tetsuo bludgeoned the other one. Soon four more appeared before us.

"«Switch»!" we cried.

Keita took over Tetsuo smashing the next two with his two-handed staves. Sasamaru and Ducker were handling the one I had while Sachi…

"Kirito from behind!"

Apparently there was one plant that was attacking us from our backs. Sachi was doing her best to prod it back with her spear, but it wasn't working.

"Sachi I'll keep it distracted. You finish it off okay."

With that I dashed in front of her. Some vines were trying to assail us, but I easily cut them down.

"Sachi now!"

She stumbled a bit, but she activated her «Sword Skill» and pierced through the enemy.

"Alright Sachi!"

The rest of the guild had already finished off the remaining enemies. They came back just in time to see Sachi finishing off hers into a pile of polygons.

"You even leveled up too!" said Keita. "Well done," he said while patting her on the back.

She tried to make herself smaller, but there was to be none of that. The group was already celebrating.

It was close to noon as we began walking our way through this forest. The guild finally made its way to a clearing devoid of monsters. There in the center was a treasure box just lying there. This could only lead to one thing.

"Stop Ducker, it's a trap!"

This was one of the few reasons I made sure that I was with the group whenever we were training. I don't know if it was his natural tendency, or if was because he was keyed into more treasures due to his status as a thief, but I had to leash him before we could get trapped.

"Mou Kirito, with you here it shouldn't be a problem."

That was always his counterargument. I couldn't accept that though. If this keeps happening then one day we could end up in worse situations.

"Ducker, if you're going to open that chest at least test it first," said Keita.

"This is an easy way to see if it's a trap. Most treasure boxes are touch activated. Therefore, the slightest touch will open. Here let me show you," I said. I grabbed a small pebble from the floor and with my «Blade Throwing» skill. Okay technically a rock wasn't a blade, but the system assist still worked, so I always just went with it.

I threw it directly at the chest in front of us. The pebble made contact and the chest opened up to reveal a rather large plant monster.

"You'd have been trapped if you were on your own you know. Tetsuo, Ducker, go," said Keita.

Following their leaders orders, Ducker grabbed his two daggers and charged them with the system assist. The same Sword Skill I used earlier «Blade Throwing» consumed the blades before being released pinning the plant's arms to the ground. Tetsuo charged up his mace and demolished the monster into polygons.

"Alright!" Ducker cried noticing his window showed a level up.

"Way to go Ducker, but next time try not to get ourselves into a trap," said Sasamaru looking exasperated.

"Okay okay."

"You know," I said, "there are some traps that are unavoidable. Just two floors up in the dungeon they have crystal nullification rooms. There've been stories of some parties dying and the others were helpless because they got locked out. The few parties that have managed to survive say that the monsters in there are way stronger than any ordinary mob, and also they completely swarm you on all sides."

That seemed to make Ducker actually feel really bad about earlier. The rest of the guild was actually looking kind of terrified after that.

"You know Kirito, it would have been nice if you told me about this earlier so we could plan," said Keita.

"We'll all figure it out. Don't worry. That includes you Sachi too," I said as I wrapped my arms around her. She seemed to perk up after I did so.

"Well today's training is over," said Keita. "Teleport: Taft," he cried taking out his blue crystal.

We all grabbed one and teleported out of the area.

* * *

**Aincrad- May 31, 2023 Floor 11: Taft**

It was at night that we all gathered for a guild meeting. Apparently Keita had some major concerns.

"What do you mean that there were crystal nullification corridors?" asked Keita. The rest of the guild was slightly nervous of my answer. Crystals were our lifelines. If we couldn't use them, then what would happen if we were trapped?

"It's exactly as I told you."

"But how can that be? Just a few weeks ago you confirmed that the clearers have moved on from Floor 28 which is one floor above the one you mentioned. You all survived with zero casualties too."

"In most cases, the frontlines' job is to find our way to the «Boss Room» and quickly defeat. There are still hidden corridors that we later go back to. That's when we noticed that some of those traps were too dangerous, even for us."

"Then what are we going to do about it?" This was everyone's major concern. We all knew that we'd probably find ourselves stuck in one due to Ducker's sensitivity to finding treasure. Even he seemed to know that as well considering today's results.

"Well first off we'll have to avoid them. Which means we'll have to not be curious," I said indicating Ducker and somewhat towards Sasamaru.

"But what happens if we're stuck. Would we be able to get out safely?" asked Tetsuo.

"Honestly, everyone here except me would die." A cold silence followed that statement.

"Is it really that dangerous Kirito?" asked Sachi. She was shaking pretty badly.

"You'd have to be at least ten levels above the floor's number as the safety net," I said as I rested my arm on her shoulder. "But there is a solution," I said quietly.

"Wait what!" everyone exclaimed.

"Well the thing is we won't be able to find a better HQ with this."

"If it's for the safety of the guild, I believe that we'd all be okay with this," said Keita. "What's your idea?"

"Well let's be honest. A lower leveled player can supplement their level by using a higher grade weapon right?" There was a nod followed by that. Everyone knows that better the weapon, the higher chances of moving on to see the next day.

"So what you're saying is that we're going to have to get new items?" asked Keita.

"I'm okay with that," said Ducker easily. The others soon followed that statement.

"Well it will take quite a bit of col which would mean I'd have to be on the frontlines more often. That and you'd have to responsible for getting parts for upgrading them."

"Then it's a plan. Kirito we'll give you a week to get what you need while the rest of us will gather the upgrade materials. All in favor?" asked Keita.

Everyone consented, though Sachi's grip tightened. It looks like I know what our conversation for the night would be.

After the meeting, we all headed up for some sleep. Sachi was following behind me, although she seemed to be walking rather slowly.

"Come on Sachi," I said while motioning towards the bed.

"Do you really have to go?" asked Sachi as we both got into bed.

"It'll only be for a week Sachi. I can trust you to keep the others safe right?"

"Well it's just that…" her voice trailed off. I motioned for her to continue and she does. "You've never been away more than a day at most. How will we know that you're okay?"

"Sachi you know you can always send me a message. Plus you'll know how that I'm alive through your friends' list."

"It's just that I don't want to know that you're in danger, and none of us will be there to help you," she said. "You've always been there for us, especially me. It doesn't feel right for you to just leave right now."

"Sachi I promise that I'll be fine. But can you promise me something?"

"What is it?"

"Promise me that you'll keep the others safe. You're strong Sachi. I know you can do it."

"Not without you Kirito," she said as she latched onto my arm.

"Then I'll try to finish up my job in less than a week then Sachi. But you must promise me to keep the others safe okay."

"As long as you come back Kirito. I don't know what I'd do if you died when I wouldn't know what happened."

"The same goes for me too Sachi." We were staring directly at each other by this point.

"You know Sachi," I began. "If there ever was a meaning behind SAO then it would have to be meeting you and everyone else here."

She was quiet, but I could tell that she wanted me to keep speaking.

"If we never got trapped here, then I would have never met the rest of you."

She smiled and drew me in closer to her. It looked like she was sleeping.

"It'll all work out in the end. I promise."

* * *

**Author's Notes:** It's been quite annoying to write this chapter. For some reason I have to keep deleting my first draft and start over which is quite frustrating, but please tell me how I did. In all honesty, it got to the point where I couldn't move on unless I just wrote so hopefully next chapter will be better.

Some are probably wondering what the relationship between the two are. I'm not going to reveal whether Kirito and Sachi are romantically attached, but they will be close, very close friends.

I don't think I can keep writing at this pace. Balancing this with my other story makes me wonder how other writers manage to pull it off... Well here's to the hope that I'll be able to at least get a monthly pace like my other story.

Anyways leave a comment, idea, thought, or whatever in a review or PM. Until next time see you.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Sword Art Online.

**Author's Notes: **I honestly didn't think I would make it in time for my monthly update. I've been so busy recently. Anyway, now that I've finally setup the story the way I wanted it, I can now begin deviating from Red-Nosed Reindeer a bit. Tell me what you think guys.

* * *

**Aincrad- June 3, 2023 Floor 35: Forest of Wandering**

_Dodge. Leap forward. Attack. Repeat._

These thoughts kept rolling around in my head as I faced down the swarm of «Drunken Apes».

I crashed into the floor as one of the brutes hit me from behind. I could see my HP drop towards the red zone.

This was a rather precarious situation I'm in. I decided that since I usually fight with the odds against me that this situation would bring back some experience. From my own experience, I knew that the skill «Battle Healing» would level up if a player was constantly in the red health of the HP bar. However dangerous it was, this skill is important.

Now this may be dangerous, but I'm not stupid. I still packed away crystals just in case.

I rolled away from another club being smashed where I just stood. Apparently my thought process wasn't entirely correct since it has appeared that my reflexes have dulled more than they should have been. I underestimated the transition of being back in the saddle full time as compared to my usual nightly training.

The «Drunken Apes» were a swarm of very large apes that ganged up on players in the «Forest of Wandering». They were high leveled monsters for this floor which usually was a bad sign since high levels and large swarms didn't equate well. For me, this was the kind of challenge I was looking for. Compared to the other clearers, I was already closing in on Lv. 58.

I looked down at the small crystal hanging loosely around my neck. Inside was a picture of the entire guild for it was a «Record Crystal»; the same guild that I promised I would return to.

_I can't fail._

I looked around noticing the status of the apes. Currently I was surrounded by three to the front and two more to the side. All of their health bars were below three-quarters as can be seen by their glowing red HP bar.

_I can do this._

I stared at my sword for a moment. The durability was still relatively high. I nodded to myself and began my preparations.

After checking to my left and right, I twitched getting ready for movement. I leapt forward using the charge-type skill «Sonic Leap» as the two apes from the side slammed their clubs down.

I easily leapt away from the two attacks and used the momentum to propel myself forward for my next Sword Skill. Sonic Leap, while being a skill that lags due to the charge it has to take before moving, was one of the best skills for someone like me. This Sword Skill was easily chainable allowing multiple combos to take place.

I used the Sonic Leap to convert into a devastating four-hit attack. I slashed all three Drunken Apes in front of me repetitively using my Sword Skill «Horizontal Square». This skill, which branches off the very basic «Horizontal», was a stronger, faster version of Horizontal. This attack, with the aid of the System Assist, attacked in the sequence of four slashes that end in the shape of a rhombus. This was perfect as the three apes in front of me were standing side-by-side. I swept my sword through the three before pulling up and performing another slash going the other way. I finally slashed downward to finish this. The three apes disappeared immediately into a flash of polygons.

I had to immediately roll away as one of the apes I left behind tried to hit me from behind. I glared vehemently and jumped at it holding my sword with two hands to execute what would be known as «Avalanche». Unfortunately, since I wasn't a two-handed sword user, it did not increase its power through the system, yet it was unneeded as the real-life experience of SAO included gravity, thus this easily killed the enemy into another burst of polygons.

The one last Drunken Ape turned to run seeing the fate of its comrades, but I quickly slashed it before sheathing my sword to the sound of broken polygons.

[Congratulations~ Level Up!]

I quickly closed the message before turning to look for some of the item drops. There was a small pouch full of col and a one of the clubs left behind from the apes. It was simply titled «Drunken Club». I noticed the stats on it before putting both of them in my inventory. I'm betting Keita would be really pleased with this.

"Looks like I'm going to have to find the path out of here."

Since the forest was so thick, crystals would be of no use which meant another hour of walking back to the city. Great…

* * *

**Aincrad- June 3, 2023 Floor 35: Mishe**

The city of Mishe was probably the largest city on the 35th floor, and even though it was relatively new since the clearers have just gotten recently to this floor, it was already one of the most populous due to the rather large amount of stores, restaurants, and hotel rooms/housing.

It was here that I arrived, only to be stopped in my place as a «Message!» showed up in front of me.

I tapped it and smiled lightly as I saw that it was from Sachi.

[Kirito,

You haven't been doing anything dangerous since the last time I messaged have you? Keita's recently gotten the group to train harder ever since you left a couple days ago to impress you once you get back. We've finally made it to Floor 28, so by the time you come back, in a week or two, we'll soon be able to catch up to where the clearers are. Stay safe and I wish you could come back soon.

~Sachi

P.S. The rest of the Black Cats say hello!]

I closed the message smiling even more.

"Ho ho, looks like Ki-bou has become quite popular."

I turned to my left noticing the auburn haired girl leaning on a light pole. There standing before me was the famous information broker, otherwise known as «Argo the Rat».

"It's been a while hasn't it?" I asked.

"Mou, Ki-bou hasn't been on the frontlines that much anymore," she half said half whined.

"I've been busy," I said quietly.

"Everyone's talking about it," she said as we started walking into town. "Everyone's been wondering where the infamous «Black Swordsman» has been up to. Clearing progress hasn't been the same without you in the frontlines."

That actually made me remember when Keita gave me last week's news article.

"I'm sure it can't be too bad. I'm not even one of the main boss fighters since everyone seems to want to stop me from «LAing» the boss's now."

An «LA» or Last Attack was a special bonus given to players who land the final blow on the floor's final boss. The special item that came with it was regarded with anticipation as they were mostly comprised of items that couldn't be found anywhere else.

"You know that's not the real reason," she replied.

I stared at her blankly.

"Mou, stop playing dumb Ki-bou; it's always you who maps out the floor before any guild can flesh their way to the floor dungeon's boss."

Well it was true that since I was a Solo, I had the head start over every guild to compile new information, go through quests, etc. before anyone else could comprise a party together. That still shouldn't have been a problem considering the two leaders of the «Knights of Blood» would have gotten the job just as fast. I told her as much.

"Speaking of which Ki-bou, ever since people found out that you were mysteriously a part of an unknown guild that didn't show up, «the Flash» has been seen losing her temper, even more so.

That was news to me. Since I left the boss raid immediately, I never saw or heard what happened.

"Don't worry I don't think anyone knows which guild you're a part of. But you might want to talk with her. She's been asking everyone where you are."

I don't know which was more alarming. Was it the fact that she knew about my guild (then again it was her job) or the fact that Asuna was on my tail apparently on the warpath?

I sighed. There were still four more days until I came back, so eventually that meant I would have to come face to face with Asuna sooner rather than later considering the current news was that the raid group for this floor would be conducted in two days to give everyone enough time to level properly first.

"Anyways Argo, why are you here?"

"To see Ki-bou of course, that and Ki-bou owes me."

Two days before the boss raid, I asked her about the updated info: boss raid strategy, overall level of the raid group (she still wouldn't give away individual levels), terrain, etc. Basically she told me all the things I missed since I've been gone. She told me I didn't have to pay, but that meant favors which could be anything.

"There's a place around here that sells amazing cheesecake. You're paying for us."

I was slowly beginning to dread this. It wasn't really the amount of col, since the info I sought from her probably was worth a good three times as much. No, it was what would happen.

Now I may be dense about a girl's feelings, which Sugu used to yell at me for, but I could clearly tell the signs that this would be considered as a date. Problem was if my bad luck was going to kick in, it would be that moment where Asuna would find me. My self-preservation instincts were telling me not to go, but it was also saying that if I left, Argo would find some sort of retribution.

Last time I talked to Asuna was when I told her I'd be getting some materials before returning to the frontlines. _Almost two months ago._ I gulped. Now I can see why she's after me. I was supposed to return and instead I ended up staying with the Black Cats.

I turned to look at Argo, although I sweat dropped when I noticed that she was looking innocently at the floor.

My luck couldn't possibly be that bad right? There's no way Asuna would find me at a time like this right?

"Alright Argo lead the way."

I could only hope that the Black Cats were doing fine.

* * *

**Aincrad- June 3, 2023 Floor 28: Wolf Plains**

_Meanwhile…_

"There's another one behind you!" cried Sasamaru.

_This would have been so much easier with Kirito around. _Keita looked around. There were currently six red dogs, known as «Pups» surrounding them. The savage dogs were local spawns of the WolfPlains that had a spawn level between Lv.30 and Lv.35. The problem wasn't there high-level, but rather like most spawns, they attack as a group.

Keita turned and noticed that Sachi and Tetsuo finally defeated their own «Pup» while Sasamaru was leading some towards Ducker so that he could pin them with his daggers.

"Sachi and Sasamaru take the one on the right. Ducker, finish the one you have. Tetsuo attack the one at our backs. I'll finish the last one."

The rest of the guild nodded at his orders. The remaining four were still surrounding them in the four cardinal directions. The two spear users ran west, while Ducker was still fighting his. Tetsuo ran to attack the member that was aiming to bite their backs. Keita rushed with his staff to take down the one on the east side.

The Pup that Ducker was pinning was finally able to break free from the daggers that was pinning it at the cost of more of its own health, but then it decided that leaping over him was a good idea.

Not in the slightest.

Unlike most of the group, Ducker was the close range specialist. Keita, Sasamaru, and Sachi all were skilled in long ranged weapons. Even Tetsuo with his mace had more range than Ducker. This led to Ducker taking a slightly more different approach to his battles. His abilities tended to be towards the hit and run style. This led to the current situation.

As the self-proclaimed thief, the skills to get away were indeed necessary to get by. So he took on the Acrobatics skill. This meant that an enemy from the air was no problem for him. Leaping up, he easily got a kill from attacking the Pup's stomach.

"I'm done with mine!" he shouted.

He turned to see Tetsuo delivering the finishing blow to his enemy. The sounds of polygons alerted him that Sachi and Sasamaru were done as well.

"Come on Keita, we're all done here."

That's when they realized what's wrong. The Pup that was attacking him was higher leveled than the others, and that made it all the trickier to handle.

Currently, Keita was wrestling his staff out of the dog's mouth. It seemed that the dog was aiming to disarm him.

It was then that Keita promptly let go of his grip, which surprised the dog as the force it was using to pull propelled it way back. Keita then took the initiative by opening up his window and retrieving another staff.

It was then that he delivered the final blow to the Pup that was slowly getting up from its own mistake. The dog got destroyed into bits of polygons.

Keita quickly grabbed his other staff while returning the one he was holding back into his inventory.

"Cutting it close wouldn't you say?" asked Sasamaru indicating all of their health bars. Keita was the only one nearing red, while the others were above half.

"It's fine," he said looking at his own level up window. Then he turned to look at the drops. "Well we're all done for the day. It's time to head back to town and towards the teleport gate. Let' go."

The group fell into position as they followed their leader back.

* * *

**Aincrad- June 3, 2023 Floor 35: Mishe**

"So this is the place?" I asked staring at the NPC restaurant.

"Mhm."

"Well after you then," I said as I opened the door.

The restaurant wasn't any different than the other local NPC restaurants. It was filled with wooden tables across the room. This place seemed to be really popular as many people were here. I think I even saw some of the clearers taking some down time here.

"Wow this cheesecake must be really good," I whistled still looking around.

We took our order with the closest NPC and sat chose a table in the back corner so this discussion wouldn't be heard. I still saw some killing intent from some of the other males once they noticed that I was with Argo.

"Getting a lady alone in a corner, I didn't know you knew how to seduce women. Should I be worried?" Argo teased. She laughed even more once she saw my glare. "Anyway, what kind of info do you need today Ki-bou."

"You obviously now what guild I'm a part of," I said keeping my voice down. I didn't want anybody to find out or get suspicious and start delving into the manner. I mean technically people would already be suspicious about me being a part of a guild and could look up the information, but I didn't want to give an extra reason for them to look into it.

Argo nodded her head in affirmation.

"Okay so there's been something I've been meaning to ask. Is it possible for a blacksmith to make a custom weapon? I don't mean just gathering the materials and either making something new or just improving it. If I was to give a description of the weapon, could a blacksmith forge it the way I would want it? Like if I asked for a shield that was two meters high could they make one?"

"Mou Ki-bou, you have to ask a really obscure question?" I looked blandly at her. If there was anyone who knew something, then Argo would know. "To be truthful, nobody knows. Nobody has bothered trying."

That sounded strange in my book. I'm pretty sure as soon as we got locked into this death game, people would want a specific item that would suit their tastes.

"A blacksmith can forge the weapon of choice. Give them the materials and they can create the weapon that you want. There are all sorts of people who ask for custom made weapons, but what you're asking goes outside of the system. Unless they actually were blacksmiths in real life I doubt what you're asking would be possible."

Damn there goes that plan. There was a small likelihood that it could have worked. I was thinking of carrying a large shield into the guild inventory and then retrieving it to create a wall between us and any opposing enemies just in case they need to access their own inventory. It would have been used as a barricade to buy some time.

"Then do you know who the best blacksmith around is?" I asked.

"Her name's Lisbeth and I'll gladly tell you where she is after you've explained yourself."

That voice…no it couldn't be. Could it? I dared not turn around.

"Ohayo Asuna-chi. I guess I'll be leaving then Ki-bou. Good luck," Argo laughed while she got up.

"Aren't you going to wait for the cheesecake?"

"Consider yourself even." She looks again between us and laughs again. She casually walks away leaving me to deal with…

"You better explain yourself!"

Yup my luck is that bad…

"Look I'm sorry Asuna. I didn't mean to lie to you," I said rubbing the back of my head. Honestly I never did plan on leaving. Just aiding the Black Cats in itself was a spur of the moment decision (not that I regret or that I would tell them that).

She crossed her arms as she sat down into Argo's vacated seat.

"You could have told me."

Was it just me or did she sound disappointed?

"I didn't know how I was going to. If I bothered your guild, then they would just think I was trying to steal you or was just an admirer."

"You could have at least told me that you were going to join a guild. Especially after what you told me…" her voice trailed off.

"Would you believe me if I said it was an accident?"

That was when I noticed she was gripping her rapier rather tightly. My instincts were telling me she would have put that sword to my neck. The only thing holding her back was the fact we were in public and she had an image to protect.

"What do you mean an accident?" she said painfully slowly. She was leaning closer with every word.

I gulped. I probably wasn't speaking the smartest things right now, but I've always been pretty honest.

"If I tell you, please don't spread the word about them. If what they're hoping for becomes accomplished, they should be joining the clearers in a month or so."

That actually got her attention as she silenced herself and got back into her seat.

"When I said I was gathering materials, I did just that. I headed off to one of the lower floors, and just when I was about to leave the area, I heard a panicked cry. So I ran off to aid them."

"You always did try to be the hero."

I rubbed the back of my head sheepishly. "Well I couldn't just let them die. Wasn't the whole point of clearing to save everyone? Anyway, I found a mid-tiered guild leveling up, but they were struggling. I stepped in and saved them. I was planning on leaving, but…" I started fiddling with the crystal around my neck.

"What's the crystal for?" she asked me.

"It's a photo of the guild," I answered. Asuna was someone I could trust with my life (which I've already done before). I'm positive she wouldn't spread the information.

She touched the crystal and a small picture opened up.

The picture itself was rather average. It was taken in one of the fields in the 20th floor. Keita was being harassed by Ducker and Sasamaru, Tetsuo was standing to their side smiling at the group's antics, while Sachi and I were on their other side.

"Who's that girl next to you?" Asuna said hauntingly slowly.

"Her name is Sachi…" I replied slowly. My instincts were telling me to run just like when I met Argo earlier.

"And why do you have your arm wrapped around her?"

"Well it's not as bad as sleeping in the same bed as her," I mumbled softly. Unfortunately for me she overheard that.

"You're dead Kirito!"

I leaped out of the way as her rapier was inches away from slicing my neck. I ran out of the restaurant before she could try again.

And I was at least hoping to eat some cheesecake for my trouble too…

**Aincrad- June 3, 2023 Floor 2: Urbus**

After narrowly escaping Asuna's attack, I finally got her to understand. Not that she seemed happy by any stretch of the imagination.

She did manage to give me the location of the blacksmith in exchange of the location of «The Black Cats of the Full Moon's HQ» was.

I'm sure it'd be fine. Ducker and Sasamaru would swarm her as fan boys. Keita and Tetsuo would try to calm them down. Keita would surely try asking about the frontlines as well, but I wonder what Sachi would do. I better send a message to warn her.

I opened up my main menu and sent her a brief message. Hopefully she'll get it before Asuna gets there.

Well no use worrying about that. I need to meet this mysterious blacksmith.

I found it strange that this person would be located on the lower floors. I'm sure I would have heard of her back when we were clearing the second floor but maybe she became one afterwards? Regardless I needed to find her so I can start ordering my request.

I vaguely recalled a memory of seeing a guy have four consecutive failures in the earlier days of being trapped. Would this mean my luck would be bad here too? No, as mad as Asuna would be she wouldn't lie to me.

As I opened the door to the shop, in the back of my head I noticed that it was actually a shop and not a vendor using the item «Vendor's Carpet». It looks like even the lower level floors were advancing in society.

The shop was relatively simple. The room was filled with weapons on display ranging from two-handed battle axes, spears, daggers, and straight swords. This shop does looked more equipped than some of the shops on the higher level floors which in itself was impressive. In SAO, usually larger buildings could be found on the higher floors. The Black Cats were hoping to one day live somewhere closer to the higher levels as Floor 11's «Taft» wasn't that big to begin with.

I was looking around the shop to gage prices until I accidently bumped into someone.

"I'm sorry; are you alright miss…?"

"Oh no it was my fault sorry about that," the person I knocked into replied. It was then I noticed that the person was in fact a girl.

"The name's Kirito," I said helping her get back up.

"My name's Lisbeth. So what can I help you with today?"

I take a moment to look at her. She was a pink-haired girl who wore red clothing with a large white apron over it. She seemed to be rather easygoing, more so than Asuna.

"Why are you staring at me? Come on out with it!" Whoa she's just as vengeful as Asuna. Why can't the women I meet be more like Sachi or Suguha? They're all strong, but at least they wouldn't kill you at first sight!

"I'm sorry. I was just making sure that you were the person I was looking for."

"So you are a pervert?" her glare intensified.

"Whoa calm down Lisbeth-san," I said while waving my arms back and forth. "It was just that Asuna who told me to come here."

"Asuna told you did she?" the pinkette's expression visibly lightens. "Hehe well if Asuna told you to come here then you can't be bad. Well what can I do for you?"

Phew… crisis averted. "I hear that you're the best blacksmith around. I need some help."

"Well whatever I can do for you, I'll do the best I can."

"I need the strongest set of these items. If you need to create them I have the materials in my inventory. I need a set of spears, a staff, a set of daggers, a mace or a war hammer, and another sword."

"That's quite the list," she whistled. "Well I'll see what I have in back. It'll be just a second."

I looked around a bit more while she was busy getting what she needed. The displays of weapons before me were all very well made for a human blacksmith. I didn't think there were NPC blacksmiths that had the quantity of this many quality brand weapons. It seemed Asuna wasn't kidding.

"I hope I didn't keep you waiting long."

She opened up her System Menu and selected several items before revealing to me the list of items I wanted.

I took out my sword as I examined the one she brought out.

The sword was a silver sword that was bronze tinted and looked very well made. It was heavier than my sword, which was a good for me. I wasn't sure which was stronger though.

"This wasn't an item drop by chance?"

"Nope, it's the best of all my creations. Why don't you try it out?" she asked.

I quickly grabbed my own sword and started charging a Sword Skill. If I used the skill «Weapon Break» the sword that was stronger would remain unchanged while the weaker one would be destroyed.

"Wait you can't!" she cried.

It was too late. I swung down into the weak point of the sword. To my surprise however both swords broke into a shatter of polygons.

"AHHHHHH! You just destroyed me best creation!"

"That was even better than I thought!" I yelled. That was amazing. A sword with no noticeable upgrade was able to match a sword I've upgraded at least four times. It was then I noticed that Lisbeth was about to grab my collar to yell at me but then she stopped.

"Wait really?" she said still visibly upset.

"Of course!" I replied. "My sword which has been upgraded about four times is probably one of the best swords I could ever get my hands on, and yet your sword without any additions just matched mine. I couldn't be happier," I said with gleaming eyes grasping onto hers. If this was the kind of quality I could get then my mission would be almost over. That and I could even get a better sword in the process which I wasn't even expecting.

"I-it's okay you can let go of my hands now," she said. Her face was awfully red and when I realized what I was doing I immediately let go and backed away for a second. I'm not sure if she would retaliate in anger again like earlier (especially after accusing me of being a pervert within a minute of meeting her).

She took a deep breath before calming down. "I'm glad that you like it, but that was the best sword I could make. I don't have the materials to make it. I'm also assuming you need the rest of these weapons to be up to the same standards?"

I nodded rather quickly before opening up my trade window. "Like I said earlier, I have the materials if you need any. But if you can make a set of weapons just like that I'd forever be in your debt."

She mulled over the list of items before stating, "I can use some of these materials for the upgrading, but if you want the best quality you're going to have to complete a quest."

"I can go right away if you want."

"No," she said with a shake of her head. "There are rumors that have been circulating that certain metals can only be found by blacksmiths. It makes sense since most blacksmiths aren't usually fighters."

"Hm… that makes sense. Still I'm better off on my own. You might just get in the way during a fight."

"What is this treating me like I'm a burden?"

"Meh it's just that even if I'm a part of a guild, I still work better on my own."

"Hey I'm a master mace wielder."

Now that was actually interesting to note. Not many people used maces considering the amount of STR that has to be invested, but I guess somebody who works with metals and refinery has to already have that prerequisite.

"Well then I hope we can get along then Lisbeth-san."

* * *

**Author's Notes: **For those of you could recognize it, yes that NPC restaurant is the same that Kirito and Silica would enter in cannon. Also yes Kirito is an idiot; he just let Asuna go by herself to meet the rest of the guild including Sachi. Oh how that would work out.

Was the dialogue good? I'm not sure I captured the right characterization for Asuna, Argo, or Lisbeth, so I want your thoughts on that. I seek to improve after all. If the complaint is about rushed dialogue, well that was more of trying to get the chapter out in time.

I'm starting to think that I should put this story on ToumaFF's forums. I've already posted an idea about a FSN crossover where about a duel between Kirito and Shirou will take place. Join the forum it's great for ideas and posting down thoughts. The biggest names in SAO fanfiction are already there so come take a look.

Hopefully I can get more time next month. October has not been a good month for writing as I had to skip two whole weeks and then most of the third week because of how busy I am. I had like only four days to do the entire chapter. Just goes to show you what you can do when you set your mind to something.

Well leave a comment in a review like always and until next time see you.


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Sword Art Online.

**Author's Notes: **I'm glad that you guys enjoyed the last chapter, but fyi due to some misinformation on my part with the Teleport Crystals (thank you kamuro ). On to news for this chapter, I don't think that this chapter was very strong, but I'm interested in what you guys think so I can improve. With that on with the story.

* * *

**Aincrad- June 4, 2023 Floor 11: Taft**

_So this is the place? _Asuna slowly walked up to the little inn that supposedly served as the Black Cats of the Full Moon's Headquarters. _What could be so special that Kirito-kun would stay behind for them, but not…_ She stopped her thoughts from continuing before shaking the thought away.

"Ano excuse me." She waited patiently by the door waiting to see if they would respond.

"Give me a second," someone called out.

The door swung open revealing a man about her age with blond hair. He seemed quite calm, or maybe he didn't recognize her yet.

"Who's at the door?" yelled someone from inside.

"It's wait… you're Asuna-sama of the «Knights of the Blood»," the boy said eyes suddenly shining. "It's so good that I get to finally meet you! I'm Ducker," he said animatedly shaking her hands while doing so.

"What's with all the commotion Ducker?" asked another man. This man was dressed up in green and apparently was just as animated as his friend. "My name's Sasamaru, 14, currently single."

"You two need to lighten up and leave our guest some room," a new voice entered her range of hearing. Three more people made themselves known behind the two. The voice that just spoke up said, "I'm sorry about the ruckus from these two knuckleheads," he said as he the two of them in the head much to their chagrin. The man who spoke was a red haired man that apparently wore the same colors as his hair. "Please why don't you come in?"

As she entered the small space, she couldn't help but wonder why Kirito would spend so much time here. There wasn't much room in this place. With all the money Kirito had as a solo, he could have surely gotten a space with more room?

She was then guided by the rather homely guild. She was led to what looked like a small meeting room that consisted of two beds stacked on either wall. The four guys crowded around the other bed while she and the lone blue haired girl of the group sat on the first one.

"Let's start off with introductions. My name's Keita," said the red haired man. "The guy in purple is Tetsuo. The blond haired guy you met earlier was Ducker, and the guy in green is Sasamaru. And last but not least is Sachi over there. We all know who you are, so what can we do for you Asuna-san?"

"Ano Kirito-kun told me you'd be coming, but he never said why?" said the girl now known to her as Sachi spoke. Her voice was rather timid, but her eyes spoke with hidden steel in them. Asuna couldn't fathom as to what she could have done until she realized:

_Could she be one of Kirito-kun's admirers?_

"I met with Kirito-kun earlier," Asuna replied. That got out a little shock from the group. "To be truthful, I had to come see why the clearers' number one solo suddenly disappeared without any mention and suddenly returns a few days ago with a guild icon while ironically having been seen with no guild."

That put some of the group to be at some unease. She noticed their reactions, especially the accusing look from Sachi as she hastily tried to rectify her mistake.

"I didn't come here to accuse anyone. I just wanted to see the group of people that could have changed Kirito-kun's mind is all," she spoke. The only one who seemed to notice her slip in saying 'kun' was Sachi.

"So does that mean you and Kirito-kun are close?" she asked. Asuna could find a trace amount of jealousy in her tone.

_I shouldn't say too many things until I can judge for myself the relationship these two have. _"During the beginning of the game we used to party together a few times. It's just that Kirito told me to join a guild saying that the life of a solo is not a nice life, yet in the end he himself refused to join a guild. That is until now. It was a shock to me when I heard the news, so naturally I had to investigate."

"Ah then that would explain it," said Keita. "I'm assuming the rest of the clearers were shocked that a Beater would join a guild, especially Kirito of all people I presume right?" Seeing her nod her head, he answered, "In all honesty, I didn't think we'd allow him to join, but in the end he's one of us now."

"I heard some of the details from Kirito-kun, but could you please explain what exactly happened then?" Asuna asked.

"Well it all began when…"

* * *

**Aincrad- June 4, 2023 Floor 15: Cave of Duality**

"Why are you in such a rush? We could have at least gathered some gear first," said the disgruntled pink haired blacksmith. "At least take out a weapon. You destroyed both your main sword and my best blade. At least try to act professional."

"I already have all the gear we'll need for this journey," was my reply. Okay maybe I shouldn't feel this nonchalant, but riling her up was pretty fun. "Fine Lisbeth-san," I said before opening up my window and taking out my «Queen's Knightsword» and placing it into the sheathe on my back. This sword was special reward for fulfilling the Dark Elf Queen's quest. It wasn't my strongest blade, but it was strong enough to carry me through several floors past the ninth floor where it originated from.

"You could have at least let me upgrade that sword so we could be better prepared," she said in a low, disgruntled voice.

"It'll be fine," I assured her. She still seemed quite miffed however.

"I'm surprised you've managed to live as long as you have the way you're acting."

"It's not that big a deal. I've already been to this dungeon before," I answered.

It was true. During the clearing of the fifteenth floor, this cave, the «Cave of Duality», was a rather unique cave. It had two entrances: one from the north and one to the south. The reason this place used to be so popular was that it contained two different metals. From one entrance, you could navigate through and find the «Luster Ore». It was a rather durable metal that also whenever was used in forging, whatever weapon that was created glowed rather brightly whenever it was used. On a side note, many people loved to collect this metal in the hopes of copying the famous «Flash's» attacks.

From the other entrance was the «Black Ingot». Contrary to its rather bland name, this metal was quite useful for making weapons as the natural stats of the weapon would have an increase in sharpness and accuracy.

The cave itself didn't house that many swarms if any at all. This was the major reason behind my nonchalance, but riling up Lisbeth was pretty fun too.

"By the way Lisbeth, what's so special about the metal we're looking for? I thought this cave only had two different metals. Even if they're strong, they're not as strong as some of the other metals that could be found on the upper floors these days."

"You could have asked that back in the shop you know," she said. "And since we're partying together, at least call me Liz."

"Well I was kind of excited," I said rubbing the back of my head sheepishly. "So anyways, what's the metal Liz?"

"There's a rumor going around via a NPC that there's a special metal inside this cave if you can find a hidden passageway. Supposedly, in the center of the cave there's a place where both the «Luster Ore» and «Black Ingot» are grown. Also it's said there's a metal inside with dual attributes, one being for the «Luster Ore», the other for the «Black Ingot»."

"A special metal that contains both properties huh?" That was actually rather intriguing. So far in SAO, there's hasn't been any form of a combination or fusion item. People were assuming that in the later portions of the game that there will be hybrid crystals to treat both HP and status conditions, but this is the first time an actual hybrid item was within reach for anyone.

"Nobody's found this supposed secret dungeon, so that's why it was assumed that a player blacksmith was required."

That wasn't too farfetched as the rare «Heart Metal» of the sixth floor was found by a party that had a blacksmith with them. Hopefully our luck would just be as good then.

"Well either way we're here," she said.

We arrived at the main entrance that led to the famous «Luster Ore». Even from the outside, a bright glow was coming out of the entrance blinding the two of us for a second before our eyes could adjust.

"Forgot how bright this cave was," I muttered. Another reason why this cave wasn't excavated for materials anymore was the small annoyances of the light patterns. Exactly to the name «Duality», this cave hosted two metals that were opposites in color and the lighting matched the metal found. At the other entrance, it was close to pitch black, so someone would have to bring some source of light from outside which was rather tedious.

"Well suck it up and we can keep moving."

"Hai hai."

Liz took the lead as we walked in. For a while we just walked in peacefully admiring the crystals.

"This is going to be a long day huh…" she mused. Her entire expression was low to accompany her tone.

"Is being in my company that burdensome to you Liz," I said trying to gauge her response. She just kept walking down further along.

"Well then Liz if you're just going to keep complaining about walking then there's only one thing to do," I said. I quickly grabbed her and put her on my back and then started dashing forward.

"Oi wha- what do you think you're doing?!" she screamed.

"Well if you're just going to complain then might as well speed things up right?" Okay I knew she was going to be angry, I just didn't expect her to be this loud. I guess she wasn't like Sachi in that regard.

"I can walk just fine you know!" she said as she was latching on to the hem of her apron.

"Well I'd rather do this then see you complaining about the walk."

When I finally stopped after a few minutes, she quickly got off my back. And then I felt a hand smack my cheek.

"You can't be that forward to a lady you know; it's impolite. Geez Kirito, you could have just asked," she said still disgruntled.

Lesson learned. Normally Sachi would just go along with it when one of the other guys would do it and Sugu…Sugu would complain before laughing and yelling at me to go faster. This was another reminder about returning back to reality to make amends with my sister.

"At least this is a good place to rest," she mumbled. We sat next to one of the bright crystals and took out what we were going to eat. All I had could be considered rations while Liz apparently brought a simple sandwich.

I was about to ask her something, but then I stopped once I noticed that her head was tilted away from mine. I guess she was still upset. Hopefully this wouldn't affect the morale for the rest of this quest.

We sat there eating for a few minutes in silence. That was until I heard some footsteps.

"Liz we need to go now," I said with as urgent a voice I could while still keeping it low.

She still refused to listen. I could hear the footsteps getting louder and some noise, maybe a voice. I wasn't willing to take the chance.

Knowing that I'd be reprimanded later by her for this, I clasp her mouth shut and ducked into a small, secluded corner that was covered by some of the rock formations.

She struggled against me trying to talk, but I kept a firm clasp to keep it shut. She immediately stopped however when she noticed the voices too.

"I thought I heard something over here," said one of the strangers that popped up.

"Well they can't have gone far. The end of the tunnel should only be a bit further," the other stranger with him said. "If we find them, we can 'convince' them to give us their earnings," he said with the sound of metal being swung during his speech.

"Alright then what are we waiting for."

When the voices died down, I let go of Liz's mouth.

"I should really hurt you right now...," Liz threatened, "but considering you might have just saved our lives I'll let it go. Speaking of which, who were those players, were they «PKers»?

"They seem to be rather new otherwise they wouldn't have been so loud," I said. Seeing the dry look I was given as a response I quickly added, "But it'd be best if we stay undetected for now."

"Geez if only we could find the secret entrance right now. We'd be undetectable if we could," she responded while leaning against one of the cave's walls. It was then I noticed that some sort of light was glowing off the wall.

A door appeared right before our eyes.

"Cliché much don't you think," she asked.

"This is a video game," I commented dryly. As much as «Sword Art Online» replicated reality and thus gave the sense of realism, there had to be certain nuances or patterns that were inputted into the design. I just didn't think this seemingly ordinary wall would be where this supposed entrance would be found. "Well after you."

"Hmphh too scared to go in first?" she teased.

"And here I was trying to be polite…" I said while shaking my head. I'll never understand her.

Before walking through the door, I made sure to cover any evidence of us finding it here. I couldn't shut the door, because if it was a trap then we'd be dead. At the same time, I couldn't let potential «PKers» find us here.

I noticed Liz wanted to comment on what I was doing before she stopped. I guess she remembered how dangerous our position was right now.

We continued our way through this seemingly endless tunnel. It was then I noticed the crystals that were growing were slowly changing from all luminous into a mix of light and dark crystals.

"So this is the secret entrance," she said after stopping herself mid-walk. She didn't even notice that I accidently bumped into her from her seemingly random stop. "Ne Kirito, let's hurry and find that rare metal."

"Hai hai."

I started searching high and low trying to find this supposed hybrid metal, but with little luck. I did manage to acquire some more «Luster Ores» and «Black Ingots». It seemed Liz was having the same luck as me when I looked past my shoulder behind me.

"It's got to be here somewhere," she said. Well at least she wasn't giving up.

"Hey Liz," I called out. She stopped her examination of a particular black crystal before looking up at me. "Well if the metal is supposedly a hybrid, then shouldn't the wall be mixed?"

"What do you mean mixed? I can see both sets of crystals quite clearly right here you know."

"No I meant both crystals growing on the same wall." At first when we reached this place, I immediately assumed this was the correct area. It was when I noticed that the glowing crystals grew on the left wall while the darker ones were growing to my right that something was wrong.

"Then this isn't the place?" she said.

"No, but we're definitely close."

"Well what are we going to do?" she asked. "We're already at a dead end."

"You could swing that mace and hit the walls randomly. Maybe another opening will appear," I said. It was supposed to be a joke, but she seemed pretty riled up. She pointed her mace at me all the while I started waving my hands in a peace gesture.

"Oi I didn't mean it."

"Oh don't mind me. I'm just going to blow off some steam if you will," she said with her smile forming a manic grin. Wow she must have been really upset after searching for a couple hours only to find out this wasn't even the place.

I ducked as soon as she swung at me.

"Whoa are you trying to kill me Liz?"

"You know that's quite tempting right now."

Note to self, never upset another girl again. Remembering Asuna's wrath from before and now this, yup never upset another girl EVER.

I dodged another blow to the head while trying to calm her down. Belatedly I noticed that I was now cornered at the dead end wall.

Don't panic Kirito. She wouldn't really kill you now would she?

I turned to face her, but her face still didn't show any signs of stopping.

"You're not getting away Kirito," she said as her mace was swung down.

I barely managed to sidestep the hit while using my sword to keep the mace from grazing my side. I could still feel the vibrations of that last attack ringing through the cave wall. I guess she wasn't kidding about being a master mace wielder.

It was then I noticed she stopped what she was doing. I turned to face my saving grace only to notice that another door was opening before our eyes.

"I never expected that to work," I said. All I got as a response was a leveled glare from my partner. "Might as well continue on then."

As I started walking, panic swept over me. I didn't know why exactly I was panicking only that this place was dangerous.

It was then I noticed the room we entered was a large rock Colosseum. The edge of the field was littered crisscrossing formations of crystals, rocks, and gemstones. The center of the stadium had an ornate design that was only found during boss floors.

"Step back Liz," I said extending my arm to prevent her from moving onward.

She nodded mutely noticing the change in tone my voice was reflecting.

I knew some of the more dangerous quests would have a certain mini-boss, but I was hoping that wouldn't be the case here. We both knew that to gain the legendary item, we would have to fight.

A sudden vision of Liz dying before my eyes emerged.

The same doubt that crept up on me upon meeting Sachi and the rest of the Black Cats became real once more.

No I wouldn't panic again. I already made my decision to move forward. I wouldn't let this feeling conquer me any longer.

I suddenly stiffened until I noticed Lisbeth resting one of her hands on my shoulder. I could feel the warmth spreading from that contact. I looked at her and she gave me an encouraging smile.

"Look I know we haven't been on the best of terms on this quest, but you saved my life before. I trust your judgment Kirito."

I was about to respond back until she interrupted me. "But if you treat me lightly again, there will be some issues."

A small smirk lightly grazed my face as she let go of shoulder. I was thinking that I'd be the one to reassure her, but in the end she ended up reassuring me.

"Thanks."

"No problem. Now are we going to start this fight or what?"

Nodding my head, I took out of my inventory one of «Black Ingots» I collected and then threw it towards the center of the arena.

This trick that I mentioned to Ducker a while ago worked somewhat on bosses. It didn't always happen since bosses usually had a higher AI than those of the standard mobs. Still, any possible advantage was always a welcome one.

We watched on as the metal was thrown high into the air towards the center of the Colosseum. The item clanged loudly across the stadium's smooth surface until coming to a stop. When nothing happened, I couldn't tell if my body grew more relieved or tenser from the void of any sort of signal.

I spared Lisbeth a glance and we both nodded in agreement. We slowly moved forward towards the crystal ever alert as to where the boss would come out from.

We arrived at the center right next to the «Black Ingot», but still nothing happened.

"I'm starting to doubt if this quest even has a boss," said Lisbeth.

It was then that a loud roar started to echo around the chamber. It started soft at first until it started growing louder and louder. We both looked up to confirm our suspicions.

"Move!"

I leapt backwards while Liz did the same but towards the side. Appearing in the center of the Colosseum a large reptilian monster landed with a resounding _thud_.

The large reptile at a closer glance should instead be considered a large cave dwelling dragon. It was a large navy green colored dragon with sharp claws but a lack of wings. It scales looked like chinks of stone that formed several layers. The back was covered with several spikes that alternated between gold and pitch black. It also had a rather long tail which it decided to curl towards its body. It had no discernible weaknesses except maybe its red eyes as the skin around it was not covered by its scales.

Seeing the spikes made it quite clear that this was the place if it wasn't confirmed before.

I looked on at the name of the dragon. It was labeled with «Xros (Cross) Stone Dragon» and had a total of four HP bars.

The dragon itself seemed rather patient as it hadn't made a move since landing in its current position. I wasn't sure if it meant it'd be more aggressive if we approached, but there was nothing to do but to test the waters.

I charged in first noting that Lisbeth was following me from behind and did a quick «Slant» across its front right leg. The dragon seemed content with letting it go and I found out why. The attack didn't budge its health in the slightest.

Meanwhile Lisbeth executed her own Sword Skill towards the dragon's head.

That's when something surprising happened. The dragon roared loudly and Lisbeth stopped in her movements. That in itself wouldn't be a problem as many people sometimes freeze in the middle of their attacks (although I doubt such a thing could happen to Lisbeth), but it was the fact it stopped Lisbeth in the middle of a «Sword Skill».

During a Sword Skill, the player must use the right movements to activate one, but then the system would take control during the movement and then finally execute the hit. But that roar completely stopped her from finishing the attack. It was if she experiencing the cool off time performed after every Sword Skill

"How did that just happen?" asked Liz. She was completely at a loss for words with what just happened.

"I- I don't know," I said slowly. This never even happened during the boss floor raids. "It could be some passive effect, but I'm not sure."

"How are we going to beat it if we can't use our Sword Skills?" she asked.

"Let's try attacking away from its front," I suggested. Maybe if the roar wasn't yelled directly at them then the Sword Skills would work against this dragon.

She nodded her head and we both moved towards the left making sure to avoid getting too close to its large claws.

When we arrived, I quickly chained a «Sonic Leap» with a «Vertical Square». It managed to graze some of the dragon's durable scales. Its first HP bar dropped about an eighth from that hit.

"Switch!"

Lisbeth took my place as it appeared the dragon's tail was about to swat me away. She executed a «Flash Impact» onto the dragon's body abruptly halting the dangerous tail from hurting either me.

«Flash Impact» was a skill that could be found within the list of «One Handed War Hammer». It was a mid-level skill that was a one hit strike that disrupts the enemy from attacking by sending a shockwave through the body that would halt the next movement. Also it should be noted that this side effect would not work on a player (not like it was necessary as a hammer would pack a wallop anyway).

"Guess you weren't kidding about being a master mace wielder." Liz only gave me a dry look in return.

Taking a look back at the health of the dragon I noticed that another quarter was chipped off the dragon. I looked at the face to see that the dragon was still relatively calm, but then that was when it hit me."

"Liz I know why it halted your Sword Skill earlier."

She didn't seem to connect with what I was saying until I started pointing at her mace. Then her face lit up with recognition.

"It has the same passive effects as «Flash Impact»."

I nodded my head. "That could also be the reason why the dragon never moved. It must have a large cooling time just like your skill. Then again this dragon does seem quite docile."

That is what has been bothering me the most. Most monsters at this point would start becoming more aggressive. Certainly an aggressive monster equated to a more dangerous environment, but a boss-level monster acting serene. There must be some sort of trap. Or am I just looking too deeply into all of this.

"Well whatever the case the faster we beat this thing the faster we find that rare metal," Lisbeth said.

So we started attacking one after the other. I would carefully attack at a specific spot, so that I wouldn't have to deal with slashing through the scales of the dragon constantly. After that Liz would use a Sword Skill directly at the opened spot to increase the amount of damage done. This was a very slow going process as the scales were really hard to hack off and the amount of scales I would have to because of the size of her mace. If I only opened up a little space, then most of the hammer would hit the scales which wouldn't get anything done. Besides that little fact it seemed each time the «Xros Stone Dragon's» health would drop, that tail would constantly impede our progress by disrupting the flow of attacks in order to either dodge the hit or Liz nailing another «Flash Impact».

It was then our slow little attacks finally dropped the dragon's health to two bars that suddenly the situation changed.

The dragon roared loudly and immediately following a transformation took place.

Instead of the docile dragon that we were used to seeing, the dragon became very belligerent. The dragon turned towards the two of us with a malicious glint in its eyes. The claws were slowly getting sharper and the scales that we've been slowly chipping away restored back to its original status. Correction, the scales on the dragon's back were shinier and more durable. This was definitely not the same timid beast we were fighting before.

The green dragon roared again this time with the same effect as before. Lisbeth and I were frozen still until we were swiped away by a vicious sweeping of its claws. The resulting attack flung us towards the Coliseum's walls making us land with a severe impact.

"What just happened?" asked Lisbeth as the two of us were slowly getting up.

"I'm not entirely sure."

In SAO and most games of the sort, monsters tended to get more aggressive the more damage it receives. But this…this seemed too sudden, too calculative. The exact moment it dropped to half of its HP it grew berserk. There was normally a range between when the monster would grow angrier, but this was too precise.

"Kirito look at its spikes."

Before, each spike alternated between the gold and black colors. Now the spikes were a swirl of both colors.

"Say do you think this dragon has a bit of a split personality?" asked Lisbeth.

I was taken aback by those words, but the more I pondered about it the more it made sense.

"So to get a hybrid metal, we have to face something with a dual persona. Great…"

Either way we needed to stop thinking and start moving. The dragon was running, no more like stampeding towards us at high speeds.

"Separate!"

I jumped left and managed to see that Lisbeth did as well in the opposite direction. That brief revelation of dodging was soon shattered when instead of stopping after crashing into the wall behind us, it took the hit unharmed and followed it up by swinging its tail sending the two of us crashing back towards the center of the Colosseum.

I quickly noted both of our HP bars. Lisbeth's was closing towards forty percent while mine was around forty-five. Before its claw and tail swipes, we were a little above sixty percent each. In other words, we took about ten percent of our health from just two attacks.

"We can't keep going like this. We need another plan," she said while eyeing the monstrosity warily.

"Easiest approach would be to bait it. It's already berserk, so I'll lure the dragon while you start attacking."

"That's suicidal. What about that dragon's roar?"

"I trust you."

"-…" Her words died in her mouth. Even her attempt at a rebuttal was stopped.

I looked squarely at her before inching my way closer back to the dragon.

By now the dragon had already turned itself around and was also coming towards me. Strangely, it was not rushing in like it did before.

I then checked its HP bar again. Contrary to what I thought, the dragon actually did take some damage from that last attack. A little less than a quarter of its third bar was chipped off just by running into the wall.

I charged in using the very basic Sword Skill «Slant». It was able to be flow in two ways: a single-hit diagonal cut running from bottom-left to top-right, or vice versa. It was usually used in response to drawing out your weapon or chaining attacks together.

My aim was for the latter. Due to «Slant» being such a simple move it had very little cool-off period meaning I could also follow it up with my «Vertical Arc».

My sword flew from the bottom-left to the top-right of my body, landing a solid hit on the dragon's stomach, followed by a V-shaped slash towards to the same target.

_Shoot…_

It was too late I noticed. The dragon wasn't merely stopping its attack due to caution; it was waiting for me to attack before launching a charged attack.

I couldn't move, and there's wasn't enough time for a «Switch» so I could only stand there waiting for the attack to happen.

It never came.

I noticed a pink comet high above me swinging a hammer of death on the dragon landing an impressive hit squarely in its head, more importantly, the eyes.

Whatever move the dragon was in the middle of died as it was physically blown back crashing into the wall, this time not on its own accord.

Standing before me was Lisbeth with the biggest smile (more like smirk) that I've ever seen.

"After you saying what you said, did you really think that I'd let that happen? Please."

I just stood there agape before snorting loudly.

"What are you laughing about now?"

"I just never thought you'd be that fast."

"Wa-wa wait a second…are you trying to call me fat?"

"No I just didn't think your AGI would be that high that's all," I said while waving my hands back in forth. Déjà vu much?

"I knew it; you were underestimating me," she accused.

"Well why don't we finish off this boss first," I said hastily walking past her making sure not to look her in the eye.

"Hey!"

The battle soon concluded after that. After a combination of what felt like refined teamwork, the dragon wasn't a challenge for the two of us anymore. Even that pesky roar with its ability to stop Sword Skills wasn't a problem, because instead of attacking at the same time as we did at the beginning. I would lead the charge by myself, and when it finally used its ability, Liz would immediately attack after it executed its move on me dealing damage to the dragon while I was given time to recover.

In the end, our HP bars didn't dip below thirty-five percent. All was left was to collect our prizes.

* * *

**Author's Notes:** Well I would have finished this a lot sooner, but a combination of writer's block, semester exams and now back to ordinary school, general laziness, and other things...yeah it isn't really important now is it? Well maybe it is since I'm pretty sure the above reasons were why the quality of this chapter was lacking. That's why I'm ending it here. I'm tired of this chapter and want it over with…

Sure this chapter could be similar to _Warmth of the Heart_ but I'm using this as a basis. When Kirito saved the Black Cats, it was mentioned cannon that they leveled up as a group. The thing is though… I always expected Kirito to help out and give/get some better gear towards the guild (like what he does with Silica) since the guild and Keita in particular wanted to be a «Clearer» (but then again if that happened then Kirito would have eventually been caught as a «Beater»). Since nothing can stop him from doing so now I decided to take the liberties to do so.

Sorry about the lack of Sachi and Asuna confrontation, but I wanted to focus more on the quest. Next chapter should include one if I can get one to work (I have trouble writing these kind of scenes).

I have a general basis on how I'm going to be continuing this story, but some ideas would be appreciated. It always helps to have something to fall back on right? Also, I've finally posted a topic under ToumaFF's forum, so you can post it there as well.

One last thing, do you want me to stick with the first person narrative or switch into the generic third person when talking about Kirito?

And with that I'll see you next time.


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